Emergency wheel

ABSTRACT

An emergency wheel comprising an outer disc carrying a tire and an inner disc adapted for concentric attachment to the regular wheel of a vehicle. Both discs are rotatably joined by eccentrically and obliquely disposed mating portions, causing the outer disc to shift from a position eccentric and oblique with respect to the regular wheel of the vehicle, to a position concentric with and parallel to the regular wheel and closely encircling the same. Means are also provided for securing the inner disc with respect to the outer disc when shifted to such concentric and parallel position.

United States Patent Lavallee [54] EMERGENCY WHEEL [72] inventor:

l0, Quebec, 10 Quebec, Canada 221 Filed: Feb. 17,1970

21 AppLNoJ 12,100

Robert Lavallee, 2131 Chapdelaine Apt.

[ Feb. 22, 1972 2,863,703 12/1958 Null ..30l/38 5 PrimaryExaminer-Richard J. Johnson Attorney-Raymond A. Robic ABSI RACT Anemergency wheel comprising an outer disc carrying a tire and an innerdisc adapted for concentric attachment to the regular wheel of avehicle. Both discs are rotatably joined by eccentrically and obliquelydisposed mating portions, causing the outer disc to shift from aposition eccentric and oblique with respect to the regular wheel of thevehicle, to a position concentric with and parallel to the regular wheeland closely encircling the same. Means are also provided for securingthe inner disc with respect to the outer disc when shifted to suchconcentric and parallel position.

13 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEUFEB22 I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 IvflPATENTEBFEB22 1912 a, 644,001

sum 2 OF 2 Robert LAVALLEE EMERGENCY WHEEL The invention relates to anemergency wheel for use with the regular wheel of a motor vehicle when atire of such regular wheel is punctured.

It is common practice to provide all motor vehicles with a spare wheeland with the usual tire changing equipment. However, everyone knows thattire changing is a dirty and timeconsumingjob.

Emergency wheels which may be assembled on the regular wheels of a motorvehicle have been provided in the prior art for releaving the problem oftire changing. Examples of such prior art devices may be found, forexample, in US. Pat. No. 1,886,977 issued Nov. 8, 1962 and US. Pat. No.2,220,518 issued Nov. 5, 1940. However, the prior art devices haveproven not to be practical enough, being either of a type ofconstruction not allowing enough rigidity of assembly, or too bulky tobe installed under the fender of a motor vehicle. Consequently, theiruse has never been accepted by car manufacturers.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an emergency wheelwhich may be easily attached to the regular wheel of a motor vehicle andyet will be devoid of the shortcomings of the prior art devices.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an emergency wheelwhich, when installed on a wheel having a punctured tire, will easilyclear the vehicle fender and will not bear or run on the flattenedportion of the punctured tire when the vehicle is started with theemergency wheel on.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an emergency wheelwhich will push the punctured tire in the axial direction duringassembly and closely encircled the regular wheel, so as to reduce theaxial space taken by the assembly of the emergency and regular wheelsthus permitting the use of such emergency wheel under the fender of mostvehicles.

The emergency wheel, in accordance with the invention, comprises anouter disc carrying a tire, an inner disc adapted for concentricattachment to the regular wheel of a vehicle, both discs being rotatablyjoined by excentrically disposed mating portions causing the outer discto shift from a position eccentric with respect to the regular wheel aposition concentric to the regular wheel, and means for securing saidinner disc with respect to said outer disc when shifted to saidconcentric position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, both discs are rotatablyjoined by eccentrically and obliquely disposed mating portions causingthe outer disc to shift from a position ec' centric and oblique withrespect to the regular wheel of the vehicle to a position concentricwith and parallel to the regular wheel. Such an embodiment permits aneasier installation of the emergency wheel as it will be explained lateron in the description.

The inner disc comprises two eccentric portions, the first one of whichis adapted to be secured concentrically to the regular wheel, and thesecond one of which is adapted to be rotatably joined with acorresponding portion of the outer disc. The second portion of saidinner disc is to be disposed at an angle with respect to said firstportion so as to permit the upper portion of the emergency wheel toclear the fender apron, and to prevent the lower portion of the samewheel in contact with the ground from bearing on the flattened portionof the punctured tire when the vehicle is started with the emergencywheel on.

The outer disc comprises two eccentric portions, the first one of whichis of larger diameter and carries a rim and a tire, and the second oneof which is of smaller diameter and adapted to be rotatably joined withthe aforementioned corresponding second portion of the inner disc. Saidsecond portion of the outer disc is to be disposed at a suitable anglewith respect to the first portion, so that, in the first phase ofassembly, it will increase the inclination on the outer disc withrespect to the regular wheel, and that in the second phase of assembly,after a relative movement of 180 of the two discs, the two angles willcancel each other and make the outer disc generally parallel to theregular wheel.

The two mating portions of said discs are to be rotatably joined by ahollow annular pivot to give permanent access to means for securing theemergency wheel to the regular wheel and are to be disposed so that, inthe first phase of assembly, the lower portion of the emergency wheelwill protrude outwardly (from the center of the vehicle) and the upperportion will largely overlap the regular wheel, and after a relativerotation of the emergency wheel will completely encircle and overlap theouter rim of the regular wheel.

The emergency wheel is to be provided with means for rotatably andaxially securing the same to the regular wheel, and also with means forpushing the punctured tire inwardly (toward the center of the vehicle)during assembly to reduce the axial space taken by the assembly thuspermitting the use of such emergency wheel with most vehicles.

The inner disc is provided at its outer edge with an annular ring so asto bring additional rigidity to the assembly and to relieve the securingmeans of all radial loads by closely fitting inside the outer rim of theregular wheel.

The invention will now be disclosed with reference to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an emergency wheel assembled tothe regular wheel of a vehicle;

FIG. 2 illustrates a section view through the central axis of theassembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of a locking deviceillustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a section view along line 4-4 of FIG. 3-,

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate section views of a further embodiment of anemergency wheel before and after assembly on a regular wheel;

FIG. 7 illustrates an enlarged view of a locking device shown in FIG. 5;and

FIGS. 8 to 10 illustrate the operation of the locking device used inFIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an emergency wheel 10assembled on a regular wheel 12 under the fender 14 of a motor vehicle.Emergency wheel 10 comprises an outer disc 16 and an inner disc 18eccentrically and obliquely mounted for rotation with respect to outerdisc 16.

A rim 20 is secured to the outer edge of outer disc 16 and carries asolid tire 22. It is to be understood that a pneumatic tire could alsobe used in place of solid tire 22.

The inner disc 18 comprises two eccentric portions 24 and 26. The firstportion 24 is adapted to be secured to the regular wheel of vehicleusing the regular bolts holding such regular wheel and additional nuts28. The second portion 26 is at an angle with respect to the firstportion 24 for a purpose which will be disclosed later. Suitableapertures 29 are provided where necessary in outer disc 16 for gainingaccess to the bolts. The outer edge of the first portion 24 of innerdisc 18 is turned in to form an annular ring 30 having an outer diameterapproximately equal to the inner diameter of the rim of the regularwheel. Annular ring 30 fits into the rim of the regular wheel so as toprovide additional rigidity to the assembly of the emergency and regularwheels and to relieve the bolts securing the inner disc 18 to theregular wheel from all radial loads.

The second portion 26 of the inner disc 18 comprises a U- shaped annularring the legs of which are turned outwardly and encompass the inner edgeof outer disc 16. The inner edge of outer disc 16 is adapted to slideinside the U-shaped annular ring 26.

It will be noted that the inner portion of outer disc 16 is at an anglewith respect to the outer portion thereof carrying the tire. Such innerportion of the outer disc is disposed at an angle with respect to theouter portion, so that, in the first phase of assembly of the emergencywheel to the regular wheel, it will increase the inclination of theouter disc with respect to the regular wheel. The angle of inclinationof the inner portion of the outer disc with respect to the outer portionthereof is equal to the angle of inclination of the second portion 26 ofthe inner disc with respect to the first portion 24 thereof. In thefirst phase of assembly of the emergency wheel on the regular wheel, thetwo angles are added but, in the second phase of assembly, after arelative movement of l80 as it will be described later on, the twoangles will cancel each other and render the outer portion of the outerdisc parallel to the regular wheel.

The inner disc 18 is rotatable with respect to outer disc 20, or viceversa, during installation of the emergency wheel but, as it will bedescribed later on, they must be locked with respect to each other whenthey have shifted relatively to a position wherein the emergency wheelis concentric with and parallel to the regular wheel. The means forlocking the discs together, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, include alocking device 32 comprising two latches 34 and 36 which are biased in alocking position by springs 38 and 40 respectively. The outer leg 42 ofU-shaped annular ring 26 has a slot 44 therein into which latch 34 fallsfor locking the inner disc 18 with respect to outer disc 16.

A rotatable ring 46 is located within the U-shaped ring 26 between leg42 thereof and outer disc 16. Leg 42 and rotatable ring 46 have wedgingportions 48 facing each other and adapted to clamp outer disc 16 againstthe other leg 50 of the U-shaped ring 26. Such wedging portions alsocooperate for pushing the emergency wheel against the punctured tire ofthe regularwheel so as to reduce the axial space taken by the assemblyof the emergency and regular wheels so as to permit the use of theemergency wheel with vehicles having a minimum clearance under thefender thereof. Rotatable ring 46 has slots 52 therein adapted to beengaged by latch 36 to lock ring 46 in position as it will be describedmore fully in a later part of the description.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6, there is shown an alternative embodimentof the invention which comprises substantially the same elements asillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and identified by the same referencenumerals except for the means for attaching the inner disc to theregular wheel, and for the means for locking the inner disc with respectto the outer disc when such discs are shifted relatively to a positionin which the emergency wheel is concentric with and parallel to theregular wheel.

The means for attaching the emergency wheel to the regular wheelcomprises a bar member 54 diagonally secured by welding or otherwiseacross U-shaped ring 26, a fork member 56 the ends 58 of which engagecorresponding slots provided in the body of the regular wheel, and ascrew 60 threadably mounted in bar member 54 and rotatably attached tofork member 56. After assembly of .the fork member 56 onto the regularwheel, the screw 60 may be tightened to secure the inner rim to theregular wheel and, at the same time, push the tire of the regular wheelso as to reduce the axial space taken by the assembly of the emergencyand regular wheels as mentioned previously.

In order to prevent any rotational displacement of the inner disc withrespect to the rim of the regular wheel, a number of slots 62 areprovided in annular ring 30, such slots engaging corresponding pins 64which may be provided in the rim of the regular wheel. The same slots 62may be used for lodging the air valve 66 of the regular wheel.

The emergency wheel of FIGS. 5 and 6 is equipped with a simple lockingdevice 70 instead of the locking device 32 of the emergency wheel ofFIGS. 1 and 2. In addition, U-shaped annular ring 26 does not carry anyclamping rings and wedging portions since the axial displacement of theemergency wheel is carried out by the means for securing the inner disc18 to the regular wheel. Consequently, the two legs 42 and 50 of U-shaped ring 26 are only spaced enough to slidably engage the inner edgeofouter disc 16.

Locking device 70 is secured to annular ring and comprises a latch 72biased by a spring 74. Latch 72 is adapted to engage a slot in the inneredge of outer disc 16 when the inner and outer discs are positioned insuch a way that the emergency wheel is concentric with the regularwheel.

The operation of the emergency wheel of FIGS. 1 and 2 and FIGS. 5 and 6is as follows:

Before securing the inner disc I8 of the emergency wheel to the regularwheel, the portion 24 of such inner disc 18 is posi tioned in such a waythat its central axis is vertically below the central axis of portion 26of the same inner disc, as illustrated in FIG. 5, so as to be able tostand the emergency wheel beside the regular wheel, the axis of which islowered because of the punctured tire, without having to jack thevehicle. In addition, the angle of the U-shaped ring 26 with respect toportion 24 of the inner disc is added to the angle of the inner portionof the outer disc with respect to the outer portion thereof and permitsan adequate inclination of the emergency wheel with respect to theregular wheel, thus permitting the upper portion of the emergency wheelto clear the fender apron and preventing the portion of the emergencywheel which is to contact the ground from bearing on the flattenedportion of the punctured me.

When the emergency wheel is secured to the regular wheel, the vehicle isstarted and the relative movement between the outer and inner discs 16and 18 will bring the central axis of portion 24 of inner disc 18 to aposition vertically above the central axis of U-shaped ring 26 after arelative movement of as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6, wherein theemergency wheel is concentric with the standard wheel. In addition, theangle of portion 26 with respect to portion 24 of the inner disc will becancelled by the angle of the inner portion of outer disc 16 withrespect to the outer portion thereof, thereby rendering the emergencywheel parallel to the regular wheel. At such a position, the lockingdevices 32 or 70 lock the outer disc 16 with respect to the inner disc18. The vehicle may then ride on the emergency wheel.

The emergency wheel may be used on the front or back wheels ofa normalvehicle (that is one with rear power drive). When used on a back wheelthe drive shaft of the vehicle will rotate the inner disc 18. When usedon a front wheel, ground friction will rotate the outer disc 16 so as toprovide the required relative movement between the two discs.

In the fully assembled position, the emergency wheel presses thepunctured tire in the axial direction as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6.The amount of axial displacement is determined, in FIGS. 5 and 6, by thestructure of the emergency wheel and by the means for securing the innerdisc 18 to the regular wheel. However, in the emergency wheel of FIGS. 1and 2, the amount of displacement is provided by the structure of theemergency wheel and by the wedging portions 48 of leg 42 of U-shapedring 26 and ring 46. Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, it will be seen that,after attachment of the emergency wheel to the regular wheel, the matingsurfaces of leg 42 and ring 46 are in full contact with each other dueto the pressure exerted by the punctured tire on the emergency wheel. Itis to be understood that such is provided for facilitating the assemblyof the emergency wheel. Upon movement of the vehicle, or rotation of thedrive shaft of the vehicle, the relative movement between the outer andinner discs 16 and 18 will first cause the leg 42 to move ring 46 untillatch 36 falls into slot 52 thus locking ring 46 in position. Continuedmovement of leg 42 will cause the wedging portions 48 to push outer disc16 against leg 50 of U-shaped ring 26. Finally, latch 34 will fall intoslot 44 and lock the two discs 16 and 18 together. It is to beunderstood that the inward movement of outer disc 16 will push theemergency wheel against the regular wheel.

It is to be understood that modifications may be made to the structureof the emergency wheel disclosed without departing from the scope of theinvention. For example, discs 16 and 18 could be corrugated foradditional strength and could also be provided with holes to reduce theweight thereof. In addition, the means for attaching the inner disc tothe regular wheel as well as the locking devices for locking the innerand outer discs could be easily modified.

Although the emergency wheel disclosed comprises two discs which areconcentrically and obliquely disposed with respect to each other, it isto be understood that the invention also intends to cover an emergencywheel having two discs which are concentrically disposed with respect toeach other but not obliquely. Such an embodiment of the invention couldadvantageously be used on certain types of vehicles having sufficientclearance under the fenders thereof to fix the emergency wheel at asuitable distance from the regular wheel.

Furthermore, the U-shaped annular ring 26 permitting the outer disc 16to rotate with respect to the inner disc 18 could form part of the inneredge of the outer disc and its mating portion be the outer edge of theinner disc.

Finally, the whole assembly could be statically and dynamically balancedby using balancing weights or by partially changing the shape of some ofthe parts of the emergency wheel.

lclaim:

1. An emergency wheel for use with the regular wheel of a vehicle whenthe tire carried by the rim of the regular wheel is punctured,comprising:

a. an outer disc carrying a tire;

b. an inner disc adapted for concentric attachment to the regular wheelof the vehicle, both discs being rotatably joined by excentricallydisposed mating portions causing the outer disc to shift from a positionexcentric with respect to the regular wheel to a position concentricthereto when said discs are rotated with respect to each other, themating portions of said disc being also obliquely disposed with respectto each disc thus causing the outer disc to shift from a positionoblique with respect to the regular wheel to a position parallel to theregular wheel when the discs are rotated with respect to each other; andl c. means for securing said inner disc with respect to said outer discwhen shifted to said concentric position.

2. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 1 wherein said inner disccomprises two eccentric portions disposed at an angle with respect toeach other, the first one of which includes means for securing the innerdisc to the standard wheel and the second one of which is adapted torotate within said outer disc.

3. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 2, wherein said outer disccomprises two eccentric portions, the first one of which carries saidtire and the second one of which forms one ofthe mating portions of saiddiscs, said second portion of said outer disc being disposed at an anglewith respect to the first portion thereof, so that, in the first phaseof assembly of the emergency wheel on the regular wheel, the angles ofthe respective portions of the inner and outer discs add each other toincrease the inclination of the outer disc with respect to the regularwheel, while in the second phase of assembly, after a relative rotationof 180 of the discs, the angles of the respective portions of the discscancel each other to bring the emergency wheel in parallel relationshipwith the regular wheel.

4. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 3, wherein the second portionof said inner disc comprises a U-shaped annular ring the legs of whichare adapted to encompass the inner edge of said outer disc, saidU-shapedannular ring permitting access to the means for securing the inner discto the regular wheel and the angle of said U-shaped annular ring beingsuch that, in the first phase of assembly, the lower portion of theemergency wheel protrude outwardly to clear the flattened portion of thepunctured tire, and, after the relative rotation of the emergency wheelcompletely encircles the rim of the regular wheel.

5. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 4, further comprising a barmember secured to said U-shaped annular ring, a fork member adapted tobe attached to the rim of said regular wheel and a screw threadablymounted in said bar member and rotatably attached to said fork memberfor securing said inner disc to said regular wheel and, at the sametime. push the punctured tire in the axial direction so as to reduce theaxial space taken by the assembly of the emergency and regular wheels.

6. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 4, wherein said means forsecuring said inner disc with respect to said outer disc when shifted tosaid concentric and parallel position comprises a locking device securedto one of said discs and an indexinlg means located on the other disc.

7. n emergency wheel as defined in claim 6. \i herein said lockingdevice is secured to said inner disc and said indexing means is a slotlocated at a predetermined location on the edge of said outer disc.

8. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 6, wherein said locking deviceis located on said outer disc and said indexing means in a slot locatedon one leg of said U-shaped annular ring.

9. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 8, wherein said one leg of theU-shaped annular ring includes wedging por tions, and further comprisinga rotatable ring mounted within said U-shaped annular ring and includingwedging portions cooperating with the wedging portions of said one legof the U-shaped annular ring for pressing the inner edge of said outerdisc against the other leg of said U-shaped annular ring when the outerand inner discs are locked in position and, at the same time, push thepunctured tire in the axial direction so as to reduce the axial spacetaken by the assembly of the emergency and regular wheels.

10. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 9, wherein said rotatablering includes indexing means cooperating with said locking device forlocking said rotatable ring in position.

11. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 2, wherein the first portionof said inner disc has holes therein through which may protrude thebolts permitting attachment of the regular wheel of the vehicle forsecuring said inner disc to the regular wheel.

12. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 2, wherein said first portionfurther includes an annular ring at the outer edge thereof adapted tocontact the rim of the regular wheel to provide additional rigidity tothe emergency wheel and to relieve the means for securing the inner discto the regular wheel from all radial loads.

13. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 12, wherein said annular ringhas slots therein adapted to engage corresponding pins in the rim of theregular wheel to secure said inner disc against rotational movement withrespect to the rim of the regular wheel.

1. An emergency wheel for use with the regular wheel of a vehicle whenthe tire carried by the rim of the regular wheel is punctured,comprising: a. an outer disc carrying a tire; b. an inner disc adaptedfor concentric attachment to the regular wheel of the vehicle, bothdiscs being rotatably joined by excentrically disposed mating portionscausing the outer disc to shift from a position excentric with respectto the regular wheel to a position concentric thereto when said discsare rotated with respect to each other, the mating portions of said discbeing also obliquely disposed with respect to each disc thus causing theouter disc to shift from a position oblique with respect to the regularwheel to a position parallel to the regular wheel when the discs arerotated with respect to each other; and c. means for securing said innerdisc with respect to said outer disc when shifted to said concentricposition.
 2. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 1 wherein said innerdisc comprises two eccentric portions disposed at an angle with respectto each other, the first one of which includes means for securing theinner disc to the standard wheel and the second one of which is adaptedto rotate within said outer disc.
 3. An emergency wheel as defined inclaim 2, wherein said outer disc comprises two eccentric portions, thEfirst one of which carries said tire and the second one of which formsone of the mating portions of said discs, said second portion of saidouter disc being disposed at an angle with respect to the first portionthereof, so that, in the first phase of assembly of the emergency wheelon the regular wheel, the angles of the respective portions of the innerand outer discs add each other to increase the inclination of the outerdisc with respect to the regular wheel, while in the second phase ofassembly, after a relative rotation of 180* of the discs, the angles ofthe respective portions of the discs cancel each other to bring theemergency wheel in parallel relationship with the regular wheel.
 4. Anemergency wheel as defined in claim 3, wherein the second portion ofsaid inner disc comprises a U-shaped annular ring the legs of which areadapted to encompass the inner edge of said outer disc, said U-shapedannular ring permitting access to the means for securing the inner discto the regular wheel and the angle of said U-shaped annular ring beingsuch that, in the first phase of assembly, the lower portion of theemergency wheel protrude outwardly to clear the flattened portion of thepunctured tire, and, after the relative rotation of 180*, the emergencywheel completely encircles the rim of the regular wheel.
 5. An emergencywheel as defined in claim 4, further comprising a bar member secured tosaid U-shaped annular ring, a fork member adapted to be attached to therim of said regular wheel and a screw threadably mounted in said barmember and rotatably attached to said fork member for securing saidinner disc to said regular wheel and, at the same time, push thepunctured tire in the axial direction so as to reduce the axial spacetaken by the assembly of the emergency and regular wheels.
 6. Anemergency wheel as defined in claim 4, wherein said means for securingsaid inner disc with respect to said outer disc when shifted to saidconcentric and parallel position comprises a locking device secured toone of said discs and an indexing means located on the other disc.
 7. Anemergency wheel as defined in claim 6, wherein said locking device issecured to said inner disc and said indexing means is a slot located ata predetermined location on the edge of said outer disc.
 8. An emergencywheel as defined in claim 6, wherein said locking device is located onsaid outer disc and said indexing means in a slot located on one leg ofsaid U-shaped annular ring.
 9. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 8,wherein said one leg of the U-shaped annular ring includes wedgingportions, and further comprising a rotatable ring mounted within saidU-shaped annular ring and including wedging portions cooperating withthe wedging portions of said one leg of the U-shaped annular ring forpressing the inner edge of said outer disc against the other leg of saidU-shaped annular ring when the outer and inner discs are locked inposition and, at the same time, push the punctured tire in the axialdirection so as to reduce the axial space taken by the assembly of theemergency and regular wheels.
 10. An emergency wheel as defined in claim9, wherein said rotatable ring includes indexing means cooperating withsaid locking device for locking said rotatable ring in position.
 11. Anemergency wheel as defined in claim 2, wherein the first portion of saidinner disc has holes therein through which may protrude the boltspermitting attachment of the regular wheel of the vehicle for securingsaid inner disc to the regular wheel.
 12. An emergency wheel as definedin claim 2, wherein said first portion further includes an annular ringat the outer edge thereof adapted to contact the rim of the regularwheel to provide additional rigidity to the emergency wheel and torelieve the means for securing the inner disc to the regular wheel fromall radial loads.
 13. An emergency wheel as defined in claim 12, whereinsaid annular ring has sloTs therein adapted to engage corresponding pinsin the rim of the regular wheel to secure said inner disc againstrotational movement with respect to the rim of the regular wheel.